AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The related video above was published in June.
A man has been charged after he allegedly forced a girl into his car, drove her to Houston and sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2018.
According to an affidavit obtained by KVUE, Austin police responded to a call of a runaway child on Aug. 8, 2018, after a mother told police her 13-year-old daughter went missing three hours prior.
The mother told police the night her daughter went missing, she received a phone call from a man who said her daughter was with him in Houston and would stay with him. Police said the mother was able to talk to her daughter through phone calls that continued the next day.
The man, who was identified by police as Arlin Misael Romero-Duarte, 26, then allegedly sent photos of himself covering his face, holding "military-style" rifles.
The mother told police after a series of phone calls between her, her pastor and Romero-Duarte, he drove the 13-year-old to Columbus, Texas, and left her at a gas station on Aug. 12.
Later in November of 2018, the mother called police to report that her daughter was sexually assaulted by Romero-Duarte while in Houston, according to the affidavit.
In July 2019, police met with the mother, who told them that her daughter knew Romero-Duarte through Facebook.
During an interview, the 13-year-old girl told authorities she agreed to meet with Romero-Duarte in person. When they met, he allegedly brandished a gun, ordered her to get into his car and told her he would kill her if she made a noise.
Police said Romero-Duarte then drove her to Houston and sexually assaulted her three separate times.
The victim told police she initially didn't want to tell anyone what happened because Romero-Duarte knew where she lived, according to the affidavit.
Romero-Duarte has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. According to online records, he is not in police custody as of Wednesday afternoon.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: